The Korean brown frog has earlier mostly been considered as subspeciesofRana amurensis, that is, R. a. coreana. However, morphological and genetic analyses support its status as a distinct species, though closely related to R. amurensis.[3] The boundary between these two species is unclear.[1]
Until recently, Korean brown frog was considered Korean endemic. However, molecular and morphological evidence show Rana kunyuensis from Mount Kunyu in the Shandong province of China is the same species as Korean brown frog and its junior synonym.[2][4]
The Korean brown frog inhabits coniferous, mixed and deciduous forests, shrublands, and grasslands. Most commonly it occurs in open, wet places (e.g., wet meadows, swamps, riverbanks, floodplains, etc.). They breed in shallow lakes, ponds, ditches, large puddles, and marshes. Hibernating frogs can be found in large numbers in the bottom mud of ponds and pools.[1]
Korean brown frog may be locally threatened by habitat loss, but this common species is not threatened overall.[1]
^ abFrost, Darrel R. (2015). "Rana coreana Okada, 1928". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
^Zhou, Yu; Yang, Bao-Tian; Li, Pi-Peng; Min, Mi-Sook; Fong, Jonathan J.; Dong, Bing-Jun; Zhou, Zheng-Yan; Lu, Yu-Yan (2015). "Molecular and morphological evidence for Rana kunyensis as a junior synonym of Rana coreana (Anura: Ranidae)". Journal of Herpetology. 49 (2): 302–307. doi:10.1670/13-111. S2CID85751527.
^"Rana coreana". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
